


Knots

by thatwriterlady



Series: ABO Bingo 2018 [11]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alpha Castiel (Supernatural), Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Camping, F/F, Flirting, Fluff, M/M, Not What You're Going To Expect, Omega Dean, Plotting Pups, Pups, friends - Freeform, surprise
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-06
Updated: 2018-07-06
Packaged: 2019-06-06 08:51:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,906
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15191186
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatwriterlady/pseuds/thatwriterlady
Summary: Castiel has to take his daughter on a pup scouts camping trip.  He isn't looking forward to it, until, that is, he meets the father of another pup.  The handsome Dean Winchester just might make this trip interesting after all.





	Knots

**Author's Note:**

> So my sarcastic ass decided to go in a completely different direction with the knotting square, and this was the end result. I hope you all like story, I had fun writing it.

 

**_Knotting~_ **

 

“Daddy, am I doing this right?”  Claire held up her length of rope to show her father the knot she’d just made.  He studied it for a moment before looking at the picture in the book again.

 

“Not quite.  I think that the loop on the left is supposed to cross over the right side.”

 

He attempted the knot himself and failed miserably.  How were pups supposed to earn a badge for knot making if _he_ couldn’t even make the knot.  He realized he’d have to talk to the scout leaders and see if one of them could help. 

 

“Maybe Miss Donna knows.  Or Miss Jody.”

 

“You can’t do it either, can you.”  Claire arched and eyebrow.  Darn her intuitive nature.

 

“I just want to make sure you do them right, so you earn the badge.”  He replied stoically. 

 

“Uh huh.  At least I can do this one.”  She undid the knot and made a different one.  He had to admit, he was impressed, even if he wasn’t sure that was one of the ones she was supposed to be doing.  He felt inadequate in that moment as a father, because what father couldn’t teach their pups how to make a knot?  Should he be teaching her how to change a tire?  No, too soon, she was only 12.  Or maybe it wasn’t too soon.  She would be driving in four short years…

 

He felt like maybe he was overthinking things.  Right now, she had a list of knots she needed to be able to make, and he wanted to help her.  Picking the book up in one hand and his beer in the other, he began studying.  It really shouldn’t be that hard.

 

“Daddy, I think I got another one.  Is this in the book?”  She asked.

 

“Yes, actually, that’s an overhand knot.”  He replied.  She undid the piece of rope and tried to make another one.  Her fingers got tangled instead and she let out a frustrated cry.

 

“Why does knotting have to be so complicated?!”

 

Cas legit spit his beer out at the sound of her outburst.  Thankfully, it didn’t land in her book.

 

“Baby girl, this isn’t knotting, this is knot _making_.  Big difference, and no, we’re not going over that difference today, or any day this year, so don’t ask.”

 

Her shoulders slumped and she gave him a pouty frown.  “I’m not getting my knot making badge, I’m not any good.”

 

“Like I said, I can figure out some of them but Miss Donna or Miss Jody will help at the troop camping trip this weekend.  If they can show me, I can then show you.”  He took her length of rope and made a slipknot.  “Some I already know how to do them.”  She took the rope back and after several tries, got the knot right.

 

“I’m going to go pack!”  She exclaimed.

 

“And I’m going to finish my beer.”  He muttered to the empty room after she’d run off.  Tonight he needed it.

 

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

 

This was overwhelming.  They were supposed to bring their own tents, which Cas did.  They were supposed to bring their own sleeping bags, which Cas did.  They were supposed to bring two changes of clothes, even though it was an overnight trip (kids got dirty, cold, dirty all over again), and a jacket, bug spray and a first aid kit.  Cas was dragging all of that in himself.  Claire was carrying her sleeping bag.  He was a little jaded over how easy she currently had it.  On the way out he was _so_ making her carry more stuff.

 

They reached the campgrounds and it was like pure chaos.  There were a dozen kids, all there with their parents, setting up tents, gossiping, and generally driving the adults crazy.  Claire immediately joined in with her friends Paige and Alex, ignoring him in favor of socializing.  He wasn’t tolerating that and called her back to him immediately.

 

“What?”  She asked with a pout.

 

“You’re going to help me set up this tent or I’ll be the one making _your_ weekend a nightmare.  Get the tent poles.” 

 

She whined, but she did it, and between the two of them, they got the tent set up.  Jody and Donna, two of the troop masters were fighting with their own daughter (Alex) to get her to help them put theirs up.  Fifteen minutes later Cas and Claire had their tent up.

 

“Can I go now?”  She asked.  There was a hint of that teenage attitude that was right around the corner in her tone but he was tired, so he let it slide.

 

“Fine, but stay where I can see you.”

 

She ran off and to his surprise, she went to go help Alex and her moms with their tent.

 

“That’s a good one you have there.”

 

Cas turned at the sound of the deep voice and saw a man putting a tent up right next to him.  His pup was nowhere to be seen.

 

“She has her moments.”  He joked.  The man chuckled and nodded.

 

“Yes, mine too.  Sadly, this is not one of those moments.”

 

“Which pup is yours?  And do you need some help?”  Cas offered.

 

“Please, I’ve never pitched a tent in my life.”  The man replied.  Cas left his own things and started helping him get his tent up.  “My daughter is Emma, the blonde that’s doing backflips over there with your daughter.”

 

Cas found where Claire was and saw the pretty girl with her.  He knew Emma from seeing her talking to his daughter outside the school once or twice when he picked Claire up.

 

“Ah, Claire talks about her.  They’re pretty good friends.”  Cas was trying to catch the man’s scent but so far, he couldn’t.  That led him to think his orientation was Omega.  Usually only Omegas masked their scent.

 

“My name’s Dean, Winchester.”

 

“Cas Novak.”  Cas introduced.

 

“Nice to meet you, Cas.  You ready for an overnight trip with twenty some screaming pre-teen girls?”  Dean asked.

 

“Ha!  No I am not.  I wish I had a beer.”  Cas laughed.  Dean grinned and nodded.

 

“Same.  You’re uh, not an Omega.  I thought most of the parents here today would be the Omega parents, save for Jody.” 

 

“I’m a single parent.  Claire’s mother died when she was seven, so it’s just her, her younger brother Jack, who’s with my parents this weekend, and me.  I do this kind of stuff all the time.  I suppose it will end when she reaches high school, but for now, she still likes pup scouts, so I indulge her.  My sister could have come but I do actually enjoy spending time with my daughter, even if it’s around two dozen more just like her.”

 

Dean managed to get the rain flap figured out and stuck the last of the poles in the ground.

 

“It’s the same for me and Emma.  Her mom walked out though.  It’s just her and me.  She is a handful but I love her.  I’m sorry about your mate.”

 

“I’m sorry about yours as well.”  Cas said.  When a bunch of girls started shrieking excitedly, he wished again for the beer.

 

“Wow, they’re loud.”  Dean looked around.  More parents were still arriving.  There were so many tents, and so many pups.

 

“Has Emma gotten her knot making badge yet?”  Cas asked.

 

“No, but she’s close.”  Dean replied.  “Hopefully she’ll earn it this weekend.”

 

“Yes, I’m hoping Claire earns hers this weekend too.  She’s been practicing.”

 

“Is your son in pup scouts too?”  Dean asked.

 

“Yes, but he’s only seven, and not quite as loud as his sister.  He’s pretty quiet, and so are his friends.”

 

Dean dug into the small cooler he’d brought and pulled out two water bottles, offering one to Cas who accepted it with a thank you.

 

“So, what do you do, Cas?”

 

The conversation turned away from the pups who were eventually wrangled by the troop masters and given tasks to do to get a fire started.  It gave the parents time to breathe, and to socialize.  Cas was enjoying talking with Dean.  The Omega was funny, handsome, and full of stories about his job as a mechanic, his daughter, and life in general.  Cas offered up his own stories, when he thought of them, and by the time the fire was blazing and everyone was moving to sit around it, he thought maybe he’d made a new friend.  They sat together with their daughters on either side of them, and continued talking, this time swapping funny stories about their siblings.  The girls gravitated towards each other, soon abandoning their fathers altogether.

 

“Why am I even here if she’s just wanting to play with her friends?”  Cas wondered.

 

“I dunno, emotional support?  Oh, I know, official tent builder.”  Dean was joking, and it was funny.  Cas found himself laughing easily.

 

“I think you’re right.”

 

The kids were all ignoring their parents in favor of doing troop tasks or socializing with one another.  Afer awhile though, Cas didn’t really care.  He was enjoying talking with Dean about anything and everything that came to mind.

 

“Can I ask you a question?”  He asked a few minutes later.

 

“Sure, shoot.”  Dean replied.

 

“What’s Emma’s orientation?  Claire is an Alpha.”

 

“So is Emma.”

 

“Have you had…”the talk” with her yet?”  Cas used quotation marks that made Dean snicker. 

 

“Uh, sort of.  I mean, she knows _what_ sex is, and that it produces pups.  Why do you ask?”

 

“Well, when Claire was practicing making her knots at home, she made a comment that literally had me spitting my beer out.  She got frustrated and was like “knotting is so hard!”  And I just…I was really caught off guard.  It got me thinking though, I need to discuss the basics with her, and soon.  She’ll be presenting and going into her first rut probably by her freshman year of high school.  She has no real idea of what knotting is.  At least, not the kind that happens in the bedroom.  I’m not looking forward to that talk.”  Cas admitted.

 

“Yeah, me either.  I haven’t gone over the knots, slick, heats, or ruts with Emma yet.  I kept thinking I had time but I guess I really don’t.  Sex ed isn’t giving her the information she really needs, so I’ll have to do it, no matter how much it freaks us both out.”  Dean pursed his lips thoughtfully.  “Sex shouldn’t be a scary subject.”

 

“You’re right.  I want Claire informed fully, so she doesn’t make a mistake and end up getting arrested.”

 

“Yes, same with Emma.”  Dean agreed.

 

Both men fell silent as they watched Jody and Donna working with all of the girls to make the knots.  They made it seem so easy and simple, no matter what knot they were doing.

 

“I didn’t find that nearly so simple.”  Cas muttered.  Dean chuckled beside him.

 

“I mean, it took me a while to get all of them, but I did.  Mostly because I cheated and looked up the knot making on YouTube.  It helps kids to have a visual to work with.  It apparently helps me too.”

 

‘I should have used YouTube!  I forgot!”  Cas slapped his forehead in frustration.  “Claire didn’t even suggest it, so I don’t think it dawned on her either.”

 

“Jody and Donna will get all the kids making their knots.  Tomorrow they’re taking the girls out to actually use the knots.  They have to choose three and use them.  If the knots hold, they get their badge.  Pretty confident that Emma will come back with hers.”

 

“Well, Claire has four or five down pretty pat, so I think she’ll come back with hers as well.”  Cas said.

 

“What are you going to do while they’re off on their hike?”  Dean asked.

 

“I don’t really know.  I brought a book, so I suppose I could read.  What about you?”

 

“I was thinking of going fishing.  We have a few hours to kill and there’s a lake back that way, through the trees.  Kids already have their fishing badges and they’ll be crowding around the lake when they get back, scaring off all the fish.  If we fish while it’s quiet, we might actually catch something.”  Dean reasoned. 

 

“I didn’t bring a rod.”  Cas suddenly wished he had.

 

“So?  I brought two.  You can use Emma’s, til she gets back.”

 

“Alright, I’ll go fishing with you.”  Cas grinned.  “I hope we catch something.”

 

Dean smiled back at him.  “I’m pretty sure we will.”

 

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

 

Jody and Donna woke all of the pups up early to go start on their knot making skills, and most of the parents tagged along after them to see how they did.  Dean was already waiting when Cas emerged from his tent, with coolers and fishing poles.

 

“What’s in the other cooler?”  Cas asked as they started the walk to the lake.

 

“Snacks.  We aren’t having breakfast til the girls get back, but I need to eat something sooner than that.”  Dean said as he passed a pole and one of the coolers to Cas.

 

They walked to the lake which, in this early morning hour was deserted, and set up their poles.  Once the lines were cast, they sat back to wait.

 

“This is a beautiful morning.”  Cas noted as he watched the fluffy white clouds passing overhead. 

 

“It sure is.”  Dean agreed.  When Cas turned to look at him he found the Omega staring at him.  The man blushed and looked away, out over the lake.

 

“So, Dean, are you…seeing anyone?”  Cas aimed for casual and felt like he’d missed it by miles.  Dean smiled and shook his head.

 

“No.  Dating when you have a pup isn’t easy.”

 

“I can understand that completely.  I’m not seeing anyone either.  The last Omega I dated was displeased by the fact that I had two pups.  Needless to say, the relationship was short lived.”

 

“That’s a shame.  Claire seems sweet and I’m betting Jack is too.”

 

“They are.  Jack’s an Omega.  He’d very docile and sweet, unless Claire picks on him, then he goes nuclear.  You don’t want to cross him when he’s mad at her.”  Cas laughed.

 

“Kids can be punks when they have a younger sibling.  I know I was to my brother, Sam.  We’re best friends now but growing up?  If he could have stuck me in a box and shipped me off somewhere, he would have.”  Dean said with a chuckle.

 

“Mmm, well, the younger pups often get on the older siblings nerves too.  I’m the youngest of four and my sisters tormented me, yes, but I did my fair share of tormenting them too.  It’s a right of passage I think.”

 

They fell silent again for a bit before Cas decided to take a shot.  “Dean, do you think perhaps you might be interested in having dinner with me one night?  Perhaps this week?”

 

Dean’s smile was beautiful.  “I’d love to.  What day are you free?”

 

“My evenings are free.  I teach economics and history at the high school, so my school day is over by four most days.”

 

“I have my evenings free too.  We close shop by six, but I am co-owner, so I can leave early if I want.  How does Tuesday work?  Then you can make sure you have someone to watch your kids and I can see who’s available on my end to watch Emma,”  He scooted closer to Cas and looked at him with wide, green eyes.  “I’m looking forward to it.  Maybe tomorrow we could take the girls out for dinner?  When we leave here.  Let them know ahead of time what the plan is for Tuesday.”

 

Cas found himself leaning towards Dean as he nodded.  “That would be nice.”

 

They got two hours of fishing in before people not with their group started filtering down to the lake.  An hour later the kids began showing up and Emma came looking for her pole.

 

“I’m going to fish with Claire since she doesn’t have a pole.”  She announced.

 

“That’s fine.  Cas and me, we caught a couple of pretty big sunfish, and a trout.  We’re taking them back now to prepare them.  You girls have fun.”  Dean kissed the top of his daughter’s head while Cas hugged Claire.  As they walked away, their daughters watched them go.

 

“I think they like each other.”  Emma said.

 

“Are you kidding?  Did you _see_ them making goo goo eyes last night at each other?  And this morning?  My dad totally asked your dad out, I just know it.”  Claire announced.  “We’re totally going to be sisters, but so you know, Jack is a pain in the butt.”

 

Emma laughed as she baited her line and cast it into the water.  She wasn’t catching anything with how crowded the shore was, but she’d at least get to talk with her best friend for another hour.

 

“Jack won’t bother me.  I just don’t want to hear our dads kissing and stuff.  Gross.”

 

“Don’t make a show of hating it or they’ll do it even more on purpose.  Dads do that stuff.”  Claire warned.

 

“You think they’ll date for a long time?”  Emma asked.  Claire considered the question for a good few minutes before answering.

 

“Yeah, I do.  They get along already, and they have us.  We’ll make sure they fall in love.”

 

“Awesome.”  Emma grinned.  Claire smiled back.

 

“Awesome indeed.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> Did you all see this one coming? I hope not. Thanks for reading, comments and kudos are always appreciated.


End file.
